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The need of self-discipline:
v. 24. Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run that ye may obtain.
v. 25. And every man that strives for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown, but we an incorruptible.
v. 26. I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beats the air;
v. 27. but I keep under my body and bring it into subjection, lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.
An attitude and a habit of self-denial such as Paul practiced is not acquired with ease, but it demands the application of the sternest self-discipline, and he illustrates from his own case how a Christian may reach this stage and maintain it. In order to make his meaning clear to the Corinthians, Paul uses the figure of athletic games, with which they were familiar on account of the fact that the Isthmian games were held in the vicinity of their city every three years: Do you not know that they that run in the stadium, in the race-course, indeed all run, but one only receives the prize? So run that you may surely get it. The point of comparison is the assiduous application to the thought of winning, gaining, the prize. The prize at the Isthmian games was only a garland of the Grecian pine, but to the Greeks its value could not have been measured in terms of money. The prize for which the Christians should strive with every nerve and fiber of their being is wonderful beyond compare, and therefore they should remember that entering the race is not equivalent to winning it; they should not be satisfied with merely running, but they should make sure of winning the prize.
The foot-race teaches one lesson, the boxing contest another: Every combatant, every athlete, practices temperance in everything; they, indeed, in order to receive a perishing crown, but we an imperishable. All the athletes of the Greek games, no matter where they were, especially the boxers, indulged in nothing which might tend to weaken their muscles or their power of resistance; they practiced such stern severity that they abstained from even the slightest concession to food or drink that might set them back one day in their training. And all this for a garland that withered away in a short time, for the honor of having their names sung in the odes of the festivals. How much more, then, should the Christians, that have before their eyes the imperishable prize of their heavenly calling, strive with all the power of their sanctified hearts and minds to obtain that glorious reward! Blessedness and glory eternal is the reward of grace, 2Ti_4:8; Jam_1:12; 1Pe_5:4.
The apostle holds before the Corinthian Christians his own example: I for my person, therefore, so run, as in no uncertain way; so do I box, not like one that beats the air. As the racer has only one thing in mind, the winning of the race; as he keeps his eyes with unwavering steadiness upon the goal, so the apostle keeps his mind firmly directed to the prize that awaits the faithful Christian when his course is run. As the pugilist does not waste his strength in a futile beating of the air with his fists, but tries to make every blow count, so the apostle, in his battle with Satan, the world, and his own flesh, did not gently stroke the enemy with kid-gloves, but delivered telling blows, knowing that upon his winning the battle depended the certainty of his salvation. For that reason, also, Paul (literally) benumbed his body, he beat it black and blue, he subjected himself to the severest corporal discipline in the pursuit of his goal; he subdued his body to carry out the dictates of his will. That is one of the reasons why this apostle, whose physical constitution seems to have been anything but robust, was able to accomplish so much in the work of the Lord. But he did it lest in preaching to others he himself should prove reprobate, that is, be ruled out, rejected, according to the laws which governed the contest, or, in case he should be admitted to the competition, be unsuccessful in his attempt to gain the prize. "What an argument and what a reproof is this! The reckless and listless Corinthians thought that they could safely indulge themselves to the very verge of sin, while this devoted apostle considered himself as engaged in a life-struggle for his salvation. It is the indolent and self-indulgent Christian that is always in doubt. " (Hodge.)
Summary.The apostle defends his apostle-ship and his right to maintenance by the congregations and shows that his case is an exceptional one for the sake of the Gospel-preaching; he holds before his readers the example of his own self-discipline for emulation.